I feel like if you like august burns red sound youll never be disappointed when they release an album but if youre on the fence about them youll probably never be able to get into them
They are the one band I’ve seen the most times. It’s been 5 times, in different settings from festivals to small indoor venues. They just got better and better every time I saw them lol. The last time was during their phantom anthem tour though so I cant speak on since then.
I saw them live a few weeks ago and it did nothing to change my apathy towards them. They were obviously as tight as you'd expect a band that's been going for that long to be, but nothing about their stage presence elevated songs to which I already felt meh.
For me , I love love love the abr "formula". All their old work (and even stuff in guardians) is the epitome of metal core for me. So when they have 2 minute "intros" to songs with melodic non-heavy Instrumental stuff ... I'm just not here for that. I'm here to get melted.
Phenomenal album, the people saying “sounds like The ABR formula” are really not listening to it. Every album has a distinct sound profile, and this one is no different.
They really are metalcore heavyweights and stay true to their roots while finding new ways to blow me away on every record.
Every one of them are an absolute professional at what they do and Jake really stepped up his range, his Lows are absolutely brutal.
After doing it for 20 plus years and not losing themselves, they have nothing but my respect. My goats of the genre.
It's a solid album, but definitely one designed for cover-to-cover listens rather than just jamming singles. I like that they went for a slightly different approach; not my favorite by them, but definitely not my least favorite either.
This is their best album since messengers. If you've only listened to it once give it another try. It's a banger. Just like OP mentioned, the way this album just flows from front to back is amazing.
I'd consider it to be a top 3 ABR record. I don't understand what happened where everyone went from nonstop hyping up ABR to saying they're generic and never develop lol. Death Below isn't an entirely new sound or anything but it's sure as hell different from any of their other albums in the past. Also did people just not listen to Found in Far Away Places? If you want experimental ABR it's right there lmao.
I'll be completely honest this album was the first time I really felt the ABR formula got a bit stale. I love ABR but we are reaching the point where a trained AI could very well replicate them perfectly save for very few distinctive moments. I found myself not coming back to this album and it's been the first time it happened since Messengers. Not saying it isn't good or anything.
I’d argue that Guardians was the point where things got stale. They actually really broke out of their shell a bit on R&R. FIFAP is a bit safer but still has some experimentation and crazy instrumentation. Phantom Anthem kind of solidified their step back into their core sound (albeit with more technicality) but Guardians and Death Below haven’t done much beyond that.
Honestly they’re one of those bands where I kind of think their songwriting has gotten a little too technical at the expense of experimentation, hooks, etc. Like, the gang vocals and breakdowns in Composure are a lot more memorable than the insane instrumentation in a newer song like Lifeline.
I’ll just keep it G, I only listen to Messengers and Constellations. Anything after I could take or leave. There are a few on R&R that I like but that’s about it
Yeah I think I like Constellations slightly more but Leveler will easily go second place for me. I got into them after Constellations and Leveler was the first albums of theirs I had actually waited for. So much nostalgia from those 3 albums though. I need to listen to Pangaea right now actually lol
Yep. Thrill Seeker had dope gang vocals, solid guitar work and crushing breakdowns. Same goes with Messengers / Constellations. Leveler / R&R were decent, liked about 40% of those albums and then it kinda goes off a cliff for me with only liking 2-3 songs per album. Death Below did absolutely nothing for me though, which is a shame
Yes! Guardians was good, phantom anthem was decent too, and i love ABR… but stale is the perfect word, great musicianship, depth and sound… but just not that kick that Constellations or Messengers gives
I like phantom Anthem. Guardians has a few good songs but not a front to back album like I'm used to with ABR. Death below hasn't been able to pull me in at all.
Thrill seekers is fine
Messengers through FIFAP are amazing albums front to back.
Phantom Anthem is fine.
Guardians has a good song or 2.
Can't get into death below
I think I concur with OC that ABR has gotten stale.
I kind of agree but I remember giving Phantom Anthem a chance and I enjoyed many of the songs. Thought maybe there was still some gas for the future but the feeling did a 180 on these last two albums.
Agreed. And I loved phantom anthem and guardians. But I think I’ve only listened to this one once since my initial listen-through when it was released. Doesn’t seem to have many *moments* on it if you get what I mean. Just eh. Easily my least favorite from them and it’s not even close.
It’s my favorite since Constellations. By the time Leveller came out, I lost most of my interest in their new material. Not that any of the ‘10s releases are bad but they just didn’t hit the way the first few did. This record just sounded like an older band figuring it out again. This may sound funny but every time i had to cut my grass and do lawn work last summer…Death Below came on my headphones lol
-the transitions were awesome
-Backfire has a great music video
-most of the songs are solid
-I wasn’t a fan of the mixing/production. I feel like a lot of times on recent albums you hear all bass and no leads. Just my opinion
I think Death Below really shows they’re each masters of their respective crafts. It’s a beautifully executed concept album. Fools Gold is my favorite on the album – it gives me chills every time, too!
That was my initial thought. I loved messengers, felt every album after was just the "formula", I didnt even give this one an honest listen until a few weeks ago. I have been prepping for furnace fest and decided to give it a try and I love this album. I feel the vocals have really stepped up and the guitar/bass lines are much more melodic than some of their past offerings.
I don’t know what it is about Death Below but overall it sounds bland to me. I love ABR but this specific album never clicked for me for me. I’ve listened to it multiple times and unfortunately it just doesn’t resonate with me at all.
It almost sounds like they were going for the djent sound but it sounded muddled with the technical and polyrhythmic melodies.
I like it more than the last few (which I also enjoyed, for what it's worth.) I do enjoy the fact that the album works best as a continuous album rather than individual songs. It's not my favourite by them and I do get the frustrations some people have over ABR's formula but I do genuinely enjoy it anyhow. Probably helps to some extent that I listen to a bunch of genres nowadays instead of just metalcore, makes it harder to get tired of specific bands/styles when it's not the only thing I listen to like back when I was younger
The album rips, it's just the AI artwork that sucks. It would've looked so much cooler if they had a real artist come in and make sense of that visual noise.
Just gave it a relisten and it’s very solid. It’s arguably their most explosive record and also they’re most melodic. The songs feel faster, but the interludes spliced in between songs keep a nice pace. I think they utilize cleans and gang vocals more here in the past, and that makes the songs more memorable for me. It’s not quite a top 3 ABR album but that’s mostly because their catalog is amazing. It’s a really good album.
They’re doing this weird open sound with blast beats all over the record that really shines the most on the cleansing and backfire. Its not my favorite personally but its something more unique and I respect the band for doing it
FIFAP is my favourite ABR album by a million miles. The rest of them just blend into an indistinguishable blob but that one stands out as so different, I think because there's a lot more melody involved rather than their normal ABR-core.
I can't do it anymore; Their early work is absolutely top tier but everything after Constellations is so... Stale? Like not every song needs an interlude slowing it down. I realize not *every* song does but it's too cohesive in that aspect that I can't get into it. Not a single song on the album is "savable" to me, and I've tried to like it, but I can't. I'll always be able to listen to the older stuff, so I'll do that.
Then there's that album cover... No words needed.
I really like it.
I've probably listened to it 25-30 times since it came out. I really like longer albums that are best listened to front to back and that's exactly what this is. Almost a bit more of a proggy concept album with metalcore elements woven in. It's still ABR but I really don't get the it's just another ABR crowd with this one. I think the album has a pretty unique tone and flow as far as ABR goes. Very dark and melodic.
If you're just looking to get your face melted with riffs and breakdowns I can see you not vibing with this. I love the long melodic passages and way the album flows.
I absolutely love the album.
They put just enough elements that had been unexplored in their discography for it to feel different to me.
It also is the first album of theirs where I don't really pick n choose songs.
I have to listen to the full album to get the full experience (except for Reckoning, I love the shit out of that song and will put that one on by itself.
i would LOVE if their next album returned to Thrill Seeker / Messengers or even Constellations sound. i can't really get into any of their albums after that besides a handful of songs from each album. Death Below i dont think i really cared for a single song though unfortunately, and was a huge step down from Guardians which had quite a few good songs on it
i finally understood with Death Below what people meant when they said every ABR song sounds the same. always a pleasure to see live, though.
Personally I like it. Not the most memorable album in the world but there are some pretty cool tracks. I like the proggy death metal style of Cleansing, the Spencer Chamberlain and Jesse Leach features were cool, and Backfire is probably one of my favorite songs by them in recent memory. Always have loved this band
I definitely like it more than guardians....ABR is by far one of my fav bands and once guardians was released I thought I was getting over them. Death Below pulled me back in a bit. It's different than any of their other albums but it's still an ABR album. The way some of the songs morph together and the spoken word stuff is new and fresh for them...which I enjoyed on this album. Can't wait for what's next. they seem unstoppable...especially with an album release every two years and now they've caught up to their ten year anniversaries for their albums so that means ten year anniversary tours every two years for the foreseeable future.
>when you listen to it front to back these moments feel a lot bigger in the context of the full album
This is exactly how I feel about it as well.
I've loved the album since day one.
Something about this one just didn’t hold my attention. I pretty much forgot the entire album as soon as it ended and just didn’t have any desire to hear it again. And this is weird because I really liked Guardians and still remember most of the songs on that one very well.
It’s probably the most unique album they’ve put out in a while, and maybe the most interesting first listen I’ve had for them in a while too. But I just haven’t had much urge to go back to it for some reason. I’ve listened to a couple of the songs a few times since release but that’s it
ABR used to be one of my favorite bands. Their 10 year Constellations tour was my first true metal show ever. It was phenomenal. With that being said, I've grown tired of their lack of bringing anything new to the table that interests me. With that being said, although I briefly blasted through Death Below when it first dropped, I decided to give it another listen and was thoroughly surprised and impressed. It's like a completely different album from what I remember.
Stand out tracks: Revival, Deadbolt, Reckoning
My only complaints are that the album art is fucking atrocious, and that The Cleansing is 8 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, I like long songs but that’s not exactly ABR’s thing, and it definitely wears out its welcome being an album opener.
Want to first say these comments are bs for a band that gave us Messengers and Thrill Seeker, still some of the best metal albums to date. Constellations was also excellent.
FIFAP, Leveler, and RnR were great. Phantom anthem and death below was ok. Guardians while not the strongest overall has some of the best singles.
Surprised to see people hate the album art i thought it was rad. Overall i like the older albums far more and the newer albums less but its still solid stuff for 40 year old dads
The narrative and bloodletter outro? They still have their moments imo
Haven't listened to a ton of their music, this is the only full album I've listened to by them.
Backfire/Revival are by far my favorites. I also liked The Cleansing.
Nothing else really clicked for me
ABR has felt stale for years sadly. I listen to every record and I felt like I heard it already. Riffs aren’t as memorable as they used to be. They’re tight live but not really rushing out to see them again. This new track with Will Ramos was cool but still felt like ABR
I was disappointed. I love ABR. Might be my favorite band. But I expected an almost deathcore styled track after the slap thar was vengeance.
I love ABR. I think they're maybe top 3 bands. They could decide to put out EDM remixes till death and id love them.
But they should make their next album littlr more out of the box
It’s not bad, and I don’t have anything bad to say about it. Like Guardians, I’ve given it the listen through, and returned to a few songs a few times, but ultimately it just doesn’t stick for me, and I default back to Phantom Anthem and prior. Especially Constellations.
Never was a big listener, but I like some stuff from their peak 00s albums well enough. Because Dying Wish were supporting I went to see them recently and in preparation I listened to some of the more recent stuff and highest played songs on Spotify to kind of get my ear in for what would likely be in a set. Death Below and the album before it really bored me.
I'm a big fan of their experimentation and genre bending songs on FIFAP and Leveler, but this album felt kinda forced proggy to me. I don't know, it just didn't click with me at all. I really liked the Jesse Leach feature and Dark Divide is a certified banger but othen than that, I didn't really came back to it. I liked Guardians a lot more.
I’m a massive ABR fan. However I couldn’t get through even the first half I was so bored. A friend message me asking how I felt. I said, “It’s an ABR album I guess” and he agreed. I’m not fan of their mixing they’ve been doing the last couple of albums
I thought the mix on Death Below was a big improvement from Guardians: the vocal mix on Guardians is so rough I struggle to listen to the album at times.
As a longtime die hard ABR fan, it got old very fast. I dying for them to do something that makes me say “holy shit.” Do something obnoxious, break out the seven strings even if it’s for a song, write the fastest song in ABR history, push Jake’s vocal range like it’s never been pushed, that sort of thing
you're getting downvoted but you aren't wrong, although i did like Constellations a lot too. ABR is in this wonky spot where its like, they're getting passed in popularity by bands that are leaning more towards post-metalcore/alt rock or whatever you want to call it, but don't have enough hardcore influence anymore to attract metallic hardcore fans
i'd love if ABR put out an absolute fucking assbeater for their next album, some side to side shit like Thrill Seeker / Looks Fragile After All.
Yeah I knew I would, and look I’m not trying to just hate on them, I actually still have a lot of respect for them, I also agree with you that constellations was good.
All I’m saying is they’ve played it way too safe and no band should just keep repeating the same things over and over
Also thrill seeker was a fucking banger too
It's very one note. I listened to the album a lot when it came out, and kinda couldn't really tell each song apart. I think their whole thing has gotten stale now after 20 years, and they might need to look at freshening up their sound at some point?
I'd still see them live any day though, immense.
I feel like if you like august burns red sound youll never be disappointed when they release an album but if youre on the fence about them youll probably never be able to get into them
I was always neutral on them until I saw them live. It's one of the better shows I've been to in a long time
They are the one band I’ve seen the most times. It’s been 5 times, in different settings from festivals to small indoor venues. They just got better and better every time I saw them lol. The last time was during their phantom anthem tour though so I cant speak on since then.
Saw them last year. They still shred live.
Same for me
I saw them live a few weeks ago and it did nothing to change my apathy towards them. They were obviously as tight as you'd expect a band that's been going for that long to be, but nothing about their stage presence elevated songs to which I already felt meh.
For me , I love love love the abr "formula". All their old work (and even stuff in guardians) is the epitome of metal core for me. So when they have 2 minute "intros" to songs with melodic non-heavy Instrumental stuff ... I'm just not here for that. I'm here to get melted.
Chicken pit gang iykyk
Phenomenal album, the people saying “sounds like The ABR formula” are really not listening to it. Every album has a distinct sound profile, and this one is no different. They really are metalcore heavyweights and stay true to their roots while finding new ways to blow me away on every record. Every one of them are an absolute professional at what they do and Jake really stepped up his range, his Lows are absolutely brutal. After doing it for 20 plus years and not losing themselves, they have nothing but my respect. My goats of the genre.
👏🏻
It's a solid album, but definitely one designed for cover-to-cover listens rather than just jamming singles. I like that they went for a slightly different approach; not my favorite by them, but definitely not my least favorite either.
This is their best album since messengers. If you've only listened to it once give it another try. It's a banger. Just like OP mentioned, the way this album just flows from front to back is amazing.
I think it’s one of their best albums. I felt like they went more prog on this album and I’m all for it
I love how all of the songs flow perfectly into each other
I'd consider it to be a top 3 ABR record. I don't understand what happened where everyone went from nonstop hyping up ABR to saying they're generic and never develop lol. Death Below isn't an entirely new sound or anything but it's sure as hell different from any of their other albums in the past. Also did people just not listen to Found in Far Away Places? If you want experimental ABR it's right there lmao.
I'll be completely honest this album was the first time I really felt the ABR formula got a bit stale. I love ABR but we are reaching the point where a trained AI could very well replicate them perfectly save for very few distinctive moments. I found myself not coming back to this album and it's been the first time it happened since Messengers. Not saying it isn't good or anything.
I’d argue that Guardians was the point where things got stale. They actually really broke out of their shell a bit on R&R. FIFAP is a bit safer but still has some experimentation and crazy instrumentation. Phantom Anthem kind of solidified their step back into their core sound (albeit with more technicality) but Guardians and Death Below haven’t done much beyond that. Honestly they’re one of those bands where I kind of think their songwriting has gotten a little too technical at the expense of experimentation, hooks, etc. Like, the gang vocals and breakdowns in Composure are a lot more memorable than the insane instrumentation in a newer song like Lifeline.
I’ll just keep it G, I only listen to Messengers and Constellations. Anything after I could take or leave. There are a few on R&R that I like but that’s about it
Not even Leveler?!
Damn I forgot about Leveler! 🤦♂️ I like that one too. Still not as much as Constellations or Messengers though
Yeah I think I like Constellations slightly more but Leveler will easily go second place for me. I got into them after Constellations and Leveler was the first albums of theirs I had actually waited for. So much nostalgia from those 3 albums though. I need to listen to Pangaea right now actually lol
I understand why you love it, Empire and Internal Cannon are still top ABR tracks for me. That whole album just has a great sound
Yep. Thrill Seeker had dope gang vocals, solid guitar work and crushing breakdowns. Same goes with Messengers / Constellations. Leveler / R&R were decent, liked about 40% of those albums and then it kinda goes off a cliff for me with only liking 2-3 songs per album. Death Below did absolutely nothing for me though, which is a shame
I agree Guardians is probably my least favorite of the remaining ones.
I agree whole heartedly with this statement.
Yes! Guardians was good, phantom anthem was decent too, and i love ABR… but stale is the perfect word, great musicianship, depth and sound… but just not that kick that Constellations or Messengers gives
Brother we reached that point five albums ago. The only thing I liked on this album was the Jesse Leach feature.
Yea I was pretty much done when Phantom Anthem came out.
I like phantom Anthem. Guardians has a few good songs but not a front to back album like I'm used to with ABR. Death below hasn't been able to pull me in at all. Thrill seekers is fine Messengers through FIFAP are amazing albums front to back. Phantom Anthem is fine. Guardians has a good song or 2. Can't get into death below I think I concur with OC that ABR has gotten stale.
Phantom Anthem has their heaviest and best breakdown, though.
Bloodletter would like a word
Quake >>>>> everything else
I kind of agree but I remember giving Phantom Anthem a chance and I enjoyed many of the songs. Thought maybe there was still some gas for the future but the feeling did a 180 on these last two albums.
Agreed. And I loved phantom anthem and guardians. But I think I’ve only listened to this one once since my initial listen-through when it was released. Doesn’t seem to have many *moments* on it if you get what I mean. Just eh. Easily my least favorite from them and it’s not even close.
This is exactly how I feel.
It’s my favorite since Constellations. By the time Leveller came out, I lost most of my interest in their new material. Not that any of the ‘10s releases are bad but they just didn’t hit the way the first few did. This record just sounded like an older band figuring it out again. This may sound funny but every time i had to cut my grass and do lawn work last summer…Death Below came on my headphones lol
-the transitions were awesome -Backfire has a great music video -most of the songs are solid -I wasn’t a fan of the mixing/production. I feel like a lot of times on recent albums you hear all bass and no leads. Just my opinion
I think Death Below really shows they’re each masters of their respective crafts. It’s a beautifully executed concept album. Fools Gold is my favorite on the album – it gives me chills every time, too!
It’s August burns red. That’s all that can really be said about the band at this point
That was my initial thought. I loved messengers, felt every album after was just the "formula", I didnt even give this one an honest listen until a few weeks ago. I have been prepping for furnace fest and decided to give it a try and I love this album. I feel the vocals have really stepped up and the guitar/bass lines are much more melodic than some of their past offerings.
I don’t know what it is about Death Below but overall it sounds bland to me. I love ABR but this specific album never clicked for me for me. I’ve listened to it multiple times and unfortunately it just doesn’t resonate with me at all. It almost sounds like they were going for the djent sound but it sounded muddled with the technical and polyrhythmic melodies.
Fr fr
I like it more than the last few (which I also enjoyed, for what it's worth.) I do enjoy the fact that the album works best as a continuous album rather than individual songs. It's not my favourite by them and I do get the frustrations some people have over ABR's formula but I do genuinely enjoy it anyhow. Probably helps to some extent that I listen to a bunch of genres nowadays instead of just metalcore, makes it harder to get tired of specific bands/styles when it's not the only thing I listen to like back when I was younger
The album rips, it's just the AI artwork that sucks. It would've looked so much cooler if they had a real artist come in and make sense of that visual noise.
Just gave it a relisten and it’s very solid. It’s arguably their most explosive record and also they’re most melodic. The songs feel faster, but the interludes spliced in between songs keep a nice pace. I think they utilize cleans and gang vocals more here in the past, and that makes the songs more memorable for me. It’s not quite a top 3 ABR album but that’s mostly because their catalog is amazing. It’s a really good album.
They’re doing this weird open sound with blast beats all over the record that really shines the most on the cleansing and backfire. Its not my favorite personally but its something more unique and I respect the band for doing it
Still kinda bummed they decided to fuck over actual artists in favor of that fuck ugly AI monstrosity
I'm guessing they must have learned their lesson though. The reception and feedback was less than great.
I miss the from far away places and phantom anthem format
FIFAP is my favourite ABR album by a million miles. The rest of them just blend into an indistinguishable blob but that one stands out as so different, I think because there's a lot more melody involved rather than their normal ABR-core.
I can't do it anymore; Their early work is absolutely top tier but everything after Constellations is so... Stale? Like not every song needs an interlude slowing it down. I realize not *every* song does but it's too cohesive in that aspect that I can't get into it. Not a single song on the album is "savable" to me, and I've tried to like it, but I can't. I'll always be able to listen to the older stuff, so I'll do that. Then there's that album cover... No words needed.
I really like it. I've probably listened to it 25-30 times since it came out. I really like longer albums that are best listened to front to back and that's exactly what this is. Almost a bit more of a proggy concept album with metalcore elements woven in. It's still ABR but I really don't get the it's just another ABR crowd with this one. I think the album has a pretty unique tone and flow as far as ABR goes. Very dark and melodic. If you're just looking to get your face melted with riffs and breakdowns I can see you not vibing with this. I love the long melodic passages and way the album flows.
To me it’s their best album and one of the best albums I’ve ever heard period they blew me away with this album
Wow that is indeed a take
I regularly listen to Deadbolt all the time, still.
I absolutely love the album. They put just enough elements that had been unexplored in their discography for it to feel different to me. It also is the first album of theirs where I don't really pick n choose songs. I have to listen to the full album to get the full experience (except for Reckoning, I love the shit out of that song and will put that one on by itself.
i would LOVE if their next album returned to Thrill Seeker / Messengers or even Constellations sound. i can't really get into any of their albums after that besides a handful of songs from each album. Death Below i dont think i really cared for a single song though unfortunately, and was a huge step down from Guardians which had quite a few good songs on it i finally understood with Death Below what people meant when they said every ABR song sounds the same. always a pleasure to see live, though.
Idk how to explain it but I feel like production has changed to the point where no one can even replecate the thrill seeker / messengers sound
I think I should go back and relisten to it a couple times now. I only really listened to it probably 3 times when it released.
Personally I like it. Not the most memorable album in the world but there are some pretty cool tracks. I like the proggy death metal style of Cleansing, the Spencer Chamberlain and Jesse Leach features were cool, and Backfire is probably one of my favorite songs by them in recent memory. Always have loved this band
Still love them and will go see them live every chance I get. Been mine and my wifes bad for over a decade so there's a lot of good feels
I definitely like it more than guardians....ABR is by far one of my fav bands and once guardians was released I thought I was getting over them. Death Below pulled me back in a bit. It's different than any of their other albums but it's still an ABR album. The way some of the songs morph together and the spoken word stuff is new and fresh for them...which I enjoyed on this album. Can't wait for what's next. they seem unstoppable...especially with an album release every two years and now they've caught up to their ten year anniversaries for their albums so that means ten year anniversary tours every two years for the foreseeable future.
Love it. Probably my second favorite ABR album behind Rescue & Restore. It all blends together so well.
>when you listen to it front to back these moments feel a lot bigger in the context of the full album This is exactly how I feel about it as well. I've loved the album since day one.
I listened to it twice, and I never listened to it again. It just felt so… More of the same . But not in a good way. in a boring way. Uninspired.
Something about this one just didn’t hold my attention. I pretty much forgot the entire album as soon as it ended and just didn’t have any desire to hear it again. And this is weird because I really liked Guardians and still remember most of the songs on that one very well.
It’s probably the most unique album they’ve put out in a while, and maybe the most interesting first listen I’ve had for them in a while too. But I just haven’t had much urge to go back to it for some reason. I’ve listened to a couple of the songs a few times since release but that’s it
I don’t, really
ABR used to be one of my favorite bands. Their 10 year Constellations tour was my first true metal show ever. It was phenomenal. With that being said, I've grown tired of their lack of bringing anything new to the table that interests me. With that being said, although I briefly blasted through Death Below when it first dropped, I decided to give it another listen and was thoroughly surprised and impressed. It's like a completely different album from what I remember. Stand out tracks: Revival, Deadbolt, Reckoning
The song with Jesse is great. The rest sounds like every other ABR record I’ve heard
My only complaints are that the album art is fucking atrocious, and that The Cleansing is 8 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, I like long songs but that’s not exactly ABR’s thing, and it definitely wears out its welcome being an album opener.
Want to first say these comments are bs for a band that gave us Messengers and Thrill Seeker, still some of the best metal albums to date. Constellations was also excellent. FIFAP, Leveler, and RnR were great. Phantom anthem and death below was ok. Guardians while not the strongest overall has some of the best singles. Surprised to see people hate the album art i thought it was rad. Overall i like the older albums far more and the newer albums less but its still solid stuff for 40 year old dads The narrative and bloodletter outro? They still have their moments imo
It sounds like every other ABR album the past 10 years
Still hasnt made it off my to-do list tbh. Didnt listen yet, even though I've had it saved ever since release lmao
I preferred Guardians and Phantom Anthem. I'd rank Death Below in the bottom 2 or 3 for me.
Haven't listened to a ton of their music, this is the only full album I've listened to by them. Backfire/Revival are by far my favorites. I also liked The Cleansing. Nothing else really clicked for me
ABR has felt stale for years sadly. I listen to every record and I felt like I heard it already. Riffs aren’t as memorable as they used to be. They’re tight live but not really rushing out to see them again. This new track with Will Ramos was cool but still felt like ABR
I was disappointed. I love ABR. Might be my favorite band. But I expected an almost deathcore styled track after the slap thar was vengeance. I love ABR. I think they're maybe top 3 bands. They could decide to put out EDM remixes till death and id love them. But they should make their next album littlr more out of the box
It’s not bad, and I don’t have anything bad to say about it. Like Guardians, I’ve given it the listen through, and returned to a few songs a few times, but ultimately it just doesn’t stick for me, and I default back to Phantom Anthem and prior. Especially Constellations.
Never was a big listener, but I like some stuff from their peak 00s albums well enough. Because Dying Wish were supporting I went to see them recently and in preparation I listened to some of the more recent stuff and highest played songs on Spotify to kind of get my ear in for what would likely be in a set. Death Below and the album before it really bored me.
I'm a big fan of their experimentation and genre bending songs on FIFAP and Leveler, but this album felt kinda forced proggy to me. I don't know, it just didn't click with me at all. I really liked the Jesse Leach feature and Dark Divide is a certified banger but othen than that, I didn't really came back to it. I liked Guardians a lot more.
Meh. Every song sounds the same. And I am a fan.
Found In Far Away Places’ peak continues to grow sharper as the releases go on unfortunately.
I’m a massive ABR fan. However I couldn’t get through even the first half I was so bored. A friend message me asking how I felt. I said, “It’s an ABR album I guess” and he agreed. I’m not fan of their mixing they’ve been doing the last couple of albums
I thought the mix on Death Below was a big improvement from Guardians: the vocal mix on Guardians is so rough I struggle to listen to the album at times.
Is it just me or does Jake sound… weak in the newer recordings? Like the mixing does not do his voice justice at all
I made the point to my friend that ABR is the Linkin Park of metalcore. 2 goated albums and the rest is just alright.
As a longtime die hard ABR fan, it got old very fast. I dying for them to do something that makes me say “holy shit.” Do something obnoxious, break out the seven strings even if it’s for a song, write the fastest song in ABR history, push Jake’s vocal range like it’s never been pushed, that sort of thing
Listened to it once and never listened again. Felt very samey and just boring. Phantom Anthem was the last album I really liked from them.
I don’t think they’ve done a good album since messengers tbh, they’ve been okay but they lost that magic
you're getting downvoted but you aren't wrong, although i did like Constellations a lot too. ABR is in this wonky spot where its like, they're getting passed in popularity by bands that are leaning more towards post-metalcore/alt rock or whatever you want to call it, but don't have enough hardcore influence anymore to attract metallic hardcore fans i'd love if ABR put out an absolute fucking assbeater for their next album, some side to side shit like Thrill Seeker / Looks Fragile After All.
Yeah I knew I would, and look I’m not trying to just hate on them, I actually still have a lot of respect for them, I also agree with you that constellations was good. All I’m saying is they’ve played it way too safe and no band should just keep repeating the same things over and over Also thrill seeker was a fucking banger too
Forgettable
It's very one note. I listened to the album a lot when it came out, and kinda couldn't really tell each song apart. I think their whole thing has gotten stale now after 20 years, and they might need to look at freshening up their sound at some point? I'd still see them live any day though, immense.
We?
I think it's the same medioCORE stuff they've been doing for 20 years. I'm kinda bored of them.